CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are no longer chasing perfection.
But last week’s 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills hasn’t diminished the Chiefs’ quest to win a third straight Super Bowl.
In fact, it may have only emboldened them.
The Chiefs (9-1) are expected to be plenty motivated when they return to the field Sunday to face the Carolina Panthers in Patrick Mahomes’ first game at Bank of America Stadium.
Kansas City still holds a half-game lead over the idle Bills (9-2) for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, so there’s little room for error with Buffalo holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“It’s a long season, and as you get to this backstretch you want to be playing your best football,” Mahomes said. “You want to start showing progression, and stuff you’ve been working on throughout the year. I think were close, but you want to keep building so you’re playing your best football at the end of the season.”
The Panthers (3-7) are certainly playing their best football.
After starting the season 1-7, Carolina has won back-to-back games and will be fresh coming off a bye week.
Bryce Young hasn’t put up great statistical numbers by any stretch, but his two wins over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants equal his total number of victories over his previous 19 NFL starts. He’s starting to play with a noticeable confidence, and it’s been rubbing off on his teammates.
“The Chiefs are a great team and they seem to do everything right at times,” said Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard. “But we’re a hungry team as well. We’re coming off a win and now we’re trying to take this to another level.”
Chiefs offense struggling
The Chiefs are 11-point favorites per Bet MGM, and that might seem low to some considering they’re playing the Panthers.
But Kansas City hasn’t scored more than 30 points in a game this season, and is beating its opponents by just more than seven points per game.
“Their offense has not been the best the last couple of weeks it seems like, but their defense has played pretty well,” Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell said. “But their offense can explode at any point, especially with their new additions and guys coming back.”
Chiefs reinforcements
The Chiefs hope to have running back Isiah Pacheco on the field for the first time since hurting his ankle in Week 2, and they may have pass rusher Charles Omenihu for the first time since undergoing surgery for a torn ACL sustained in the playoffs. The addition of Pacheco in particular could spark an offense that has struggled to find a sense of urgency early in games.
“He wants to be out there as much as possible,” Mahomes said. “But at the same time, he wants to win. He knows the long-term goals we have. So we want to get him back at the best time for him.”
X marks the spot
Chiefs rookie Xavier Worthy had perhaps his best game of the season last week against Buffalo, catching four of his five targets for 61 yards and a touchdown. And while he’s still making first-year player mistakes, such as failing to get both feet down for a catch along the sideline, the Chiefs believe he has broke through the proverbial rookie wall.
“He can do it all, man,” Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “He can go deep, open the field for all of us. He can play the short game, too. He’s starting to get rolling. He’s starting to do his thing.”
Brooks set to make his debut
The Panthers are also hoping to get some players back too following their bye week — and rookie running back Jonathon Brooks is set to make his NFL debut vs. the Chiefs.
Brooks has yet to play in a game since being drafted in the second round while recovering from a torn ACL he sustained playing for the Texas Longhorns. He could help give the Panthers a needed one-two punch to go along with Hubbard, who has been productive with 818 yards rushing and six TDs on the ground.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring), left tackle Ickey Ekwonu (ankle) and linebacker Amare Barno all returned to practice this week. Ekwonu seems the mostly likely to play, which means utility offensive lineman Brady Christensen will return to a reserve role with Cade Mays remaining at center.
The NFL’s most accurate kicker is…
The most accurate kicker in NFL history is no longer Baltimore’s Justin Tucker or even Kansas City’s Harrison Butker.
It’s Carolina’s “Easy” Eddy Pineiro.
By virtue of Tucker’s miss last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pineiro quietly moved into the NFL lead as the most accurate kicker of all time at 89.3% (101 of 113) for his career. Piniero, who’ll become an unrestricted free agent after the season, started the season third.
But he’s the first to admit that his career highlights haven’t quite matched up to Tucker, who has attempted 92 field goals from beyond 50 yards compared to Pineiro’s 13.
“He’s the goat,” Pineiro said.
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AP Sports Writer David Skretta contributed to this report.
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